Thursday, Jan. 9

Slept late, until around 8:30. Hubbie was downstairs already. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie checked on Mother, but of course she opted not to come over today. Her wheelchair ramp was iced over, so it wouldn't have been safe.

Hubbie was scheduled to go to a Master Gardener meeting this morning at 10 a.m., but he soon got a phone call alerting him that the meeting has been postponed until next Thursday. I'm sure meetings all over town were cancelled today, since the roads were icy. Schools were closed, of course. The mail ran, but the state and local newspapers weren't delivered.

The first thing I did after I exercised was grab my camera and shoot a few pictures through the windows, and then post a couple of them to my social network page.

Finally went upstairs and got ready for the day. Didn't do much after that until time to prepare lunch for Mother. I heated the remainder of the chicken noodle soup for her, and Hubbie delivered it.

Then I made bean sandwiches for our lunch. I mashed beans and heated them in the microwave. Mixed the beans with a little mustard. I spread the bean mixture on toast, topped it with slices of cheese and melted it in the microwave. Served the sandwiches with sides of coleslaw.

Afterward, I made a recipe of mushroom soup. Hubbie helped by slicing the mushrooms and dicing some onion for me. I sauteed the mushrooms and onions in margarine, added flour, then fat free chicken broth. Cooked this until is was slightly thickened, then added fat free half-and-half milk, and spices...nutmeg and white pepper.

Later, I used the soup to make Salisbury steaks. I seasoned hamburger patties with no salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, and garlic power, and cooked them. Then I added the mushroom soup, mixed with browning sauce and sour cream, and let it simmer about 20 minutes.

Served the meal with mashed potatoes and spinach. I sent a helping of the meal to Mother, but instead of spinach, which she doesn't like, I added coleslaw to her supper.

Later, at 7 p.m., we ventured out to the college for a basketball game. If it had been up to me, I would have skipped this game and stayed snug in my warm house. But Hubbie was bound and determined to go. I hope his niece and nephew duly appreciate our dedicated attendance.

Our team won, fortunately. Up to now, they have had a poor showing, but they've improved to the point that they've won their past two home games.

The college did a good job of sanding the roads and sidewalks on campus, but I still almost lost my footing twice on small patches of ice...once going to the gym, and again going back to our vehicle. It's hard to see those patches at night.

The temperature is on the rise, though, and things are thawing. But the trees are still covered in ice. Maybe it'll all clear away tomorrow.

Back home around 9:30, we watched a little TV and then headed to bed.

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Note: we are  a little anxious for Hubbie's sister, who is undergoing an ultrasound, a colonoscopy, and an endoscopy tomorrow. Her doctor saw a spot on her kidney and is thoroughly checking her out. She has only one kidney, since the other one was removed eighteen years ago because of cancer. She has been losing weight recently, but we figured it was because she has difficulty eating with braces on her teeth. Hopefully, all these tests will rule out any major problems.